Ag Weather: No change in the weather forecast for the next two weeks from any of the weather people who I get reports from. Still a warmer and wetter forecast than normal for mid- to late-February, which can be the snowiest month of the winter.

Managing winter wheat: The first thing to do from fall planted wheat is to assess the surviving stand to see if it is viable as an economic crop. Fall planting in 7-inch rows may have left 23 seeds per foot of row. Now an assessment can be made to see how many plants and tillers are present. Vibrant green patches may be interspersed with brown areas, which may not be winter-killed plants. A generic healthy plant count below 12 plants per square foot is too low; 12 to 15 viable plants per square foot may require more time to properly assess the spring greenup potential and possible replant to another crop. At least 15 live plants per square foot may be enough to reach maximum yield potential, while over 22 plants per square foot means an excellent stand. For brown areas, dig sample plants and bring them inside to check for root regrowth, or flag that area of the field to come back in a week or so to check for regrowth in the field. To calculate the plants per square foot, take a plant count in a 3-foot length, multiply that number by 4 and divide that number by the row width. Don’t rely on one count, and don’t assume that brown indicated a winter-killed plant.

USDA ERS forecasting lower farm incomes: The USDA Economic Research (ERS) is forecasting 16% lower farm incomes this year as compared to 2022. This is primarily due to higher costs for inputs, such as seed, fertilizer, pesticides, fuel, interest rates and inflationary pressures. Although some ag inputs had huge price spikes last year and have since fallen somewhat, costs are still higher in a relative sense than before the spikes. In regards to prices received by farmers, the markets do not like uncertainty, which causes nervous investors to move their money into and out of (buying and selling) commodities. This volatility includes agricultural commodities, such as corn, soybeans, wheat, sugar, rice, lumber, cattle, lean hogs, milk, coffee, cotton and orange juice. Although farmers are not speculators, the markets need liquidity which outside investors provide.

Pesticide certification: As spring approaches, farmers wanting to buy and apply restricted-use pesticides need to have a current certification (license). The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources (MDARD) has a new pesticide applicator credit report on the MDARD website where farmers can look up their earned credits towards their credential. The address is www.michigan.gov/mdard/liensing/pesticide. Those needing to take a pencil-and-paper exam can do so at various locations around the state, the closest to Monroe being in Adrian on April 14. Signup is online at the MDARD website. Meetings with credits are generally offered during the winter months, with some extending into spring and fall. Since MDARD must approve any meetings for credits, farmers can go the MDARD website to look up where these meetings will be held and what credits the meetings offer.

Garden seed terminology: It can be confusing to read vegetable or fruit catalog seed or plant descriptions if you are not familiar with some basic plant terminology. Cultivar usually refers to the “variety name,” such as a San Joaquin pepper where “San Joaquin” is the cultivar name of this variety of pepper. Open pollinated varieties mean that the plants must be pollinated by insects, birds, wind or other natural forms of pollination, such as self-pollination.

Sweet corn has both male (pollen from the tassel) and female (silks on the ear) parts on the same plant and can pollinate itself to produce kernels on the ear. Hybrid plants are the result of cross pollination to produce a “better” plant of one or more desirable traits from the original plant “parents.” Heirloom generally refers to varieties that have been around 50 years or so, and have maintained their original characteristics. Heirloom tomatoes have become more popular in recent years.

Organic has a legal meaning, going back to the 1990 Farm Bill, and can be used to describe seed if the rules for compliance have been carefully followed and documented as specified by the USDA’s National Organic Program. Organic seeds are grown strictly without the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, the use of sewage sludge (biosolids), irradiation and no genetically engineered traits.

Treated seeds are generally coated with a fungicide to help protect the seed from seedborne diseases.  However there are biological seed treatments that are approved for organic seed.

Ned Birkey is an MSU Extension educator emeritus and a regular contributor to The Monroe News.

This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Agriculture: USDA forecasting 16% lower farm incomes this year